Afghan women footballers celebrate 'historical moment'
A FIFA rule change allowing Afghanistan's women footballers to compete in official matches is a "historical moment", former captain Khalida Popal told AFP on Thursday.
Economy
President Donald Trump said a US naval blockade against Iran could last months, leading oil prices to spike to their highest level in more than four years, which held into Thursday.
Sports
Cade Cunningham kept top-seeded Detroit's NBA playoff run alive against the Orlando Magic, as the Los Angeles Lakers again failed to close out their series with Houston on Wednesday.
Culture
There was "no meaningful shift" away from big tech platforms like TikTok and Instagram in the immediate wake of Australia's world-leading teen social media ban, government documents obtained by AFP show.
Things to know
Denmark's Soren Torpegaard Lund, one of the favourites in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, has sparked a homophobic backlash in his progressive country with his electro-pop track, but he's just trying to "stay true to myself", he told AFP in an interview.
Health
Jordan Adams, who ran the London marathon with a 25-kilogram fridge on his back last weekend, is now running around Ireland in a race to find a cure for a form of dementia both he and his brother are near certain to contract.
Oil prices soared more than seven percent to a fresh four-year high Thursday while stocks fell after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months and a report said he would be briefed on potential fresh military strikes.
Sports
Japan's Naoya Inoue said he will face a "clever, serious" opponent in fellow unbeaten countryman Junto Nakatani when they clash in front of 55,000 at a sold-out Tokyo Dome on Saturday.
Oil prices soared more than five percent to a fresh four-year high Thursday while stocks fell after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months as peace talks remained stalled.
Boulevard
A Jewish community group warned police a terror attack was "likely" just days before two gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach, an inquiry said on Thursday.
Things to know
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for King Charles to "return" the prized Koh-i-Noor diamond, which the British Empire took from the Indian subcontinent in the 1800s, on the third day of the monarch's state visit on Wednesday.
Boulevard
White supremacist killer Brenton Tarrant lost on Thursday an appeal seeking to overturn his conviction and sentence for shooting dead 51 people at two New Zealand mosques in 2019, court documents showed.
Politics
Oil prices held around four-year highs Thursday while stocks fell after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months as peace talks remained stalled.
Weather
The first global conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels wrapped up on Wednesday -- but what progress was made in Santa Marta, a coal port on the Caribbean coast?
Culture
A centuries-old festival that heralds spring drew hundreds of worshippers to a mountain in Tokyo on Wednesday, as robed Shinto priests led a procession to a sacred shrine at the summit.
Politics
Nearly 60 nations hailed progress in the fight to exit fossil fuels as a breakaway conference wrapped up in Colombia on Wednesday -- but now face the harder work of turning words into action.
Culture
Viral posts of an Australian street dubbed the country's "most beautiful" have enticed coachloads of visitors to a picturesque seaside town -- and locals have had enough of it.
Sports
An epic Cade Cunningham performance kept top-seeded Detroit's NBA playoff run alive in a crucial 116-109 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Economy
Juan Jose Guilarte is like any other 10-year-old as he races around a park in Cuba's capital Havana.
Economy
Buckets of blooms adorn Yuvita Anggi Prinanda's sidewalk flower stall in Bali, but their perfume can't mask the stench of accumulating trash bespoiling parts of the resort island famed for its natural beauty.
Boulevard
A Jewish community group warned police a terror attack was "likely" just days before two gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach, an inquiry said on Thursday.
Culture
Beaming with excitement, Finnish violinist Linda Lampenius and singer Pete Parkkonen entered a studio in Helsinki for their final rehearsals, before departing to Vienna, where they are tipped to win Eurovision.
Economy
The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady again on Thursday as policymakers weigh concerns about higher inflation triggered by the Middle East war against worries about weakening growth.
Sports
Football's power brokers meet in Vancouver on Thursday as FIFA convenes its 76th Congress, a high‑stakes gathering less than two months before the biggest World Cup ever opens across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Economy
Samsung Electronics said on Thursday its quarterly operating profit had jumped 750 percent year-on-year to a record 57.2 trillion won ($38.4 billion) on the back of strong sales of chips crucial for artificial intelligence.
Culture
R&B singer D4vd used chainsaws he bought from Amazon to cut up the body of the teenage girl he murdered and left to rot in the trunk of his Tesla, prosecution documents claimed Wednesday.
Technology
The brand update marks the company's continued shift toward intelligence-driven analytics.
Economy
Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday defended massive spending on artificial intelligence that dragged down shares despite strong earnings boosted by the technology.
Sports
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund will stop financing LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season, throwing the future of the breakaway tour into serious doubt, US media reported Wednesday.
Technology
Google-parent Alphabet impressed Wall Street with its latest quarterly earnings on Wednesday, as big tech rival Meta left investors lukewarm amid concerns about the huge cost of AI development.
Boulevard
The extraordinary clash at the Federal Reserve between Jerome Powell and Donald Trump entered new territory Wednesday when the outgoing US central bank chairman said he would remain on as a governor -- and the president lashed him with another insult.
Economy
Brazil's Central Bank on Wednesday announced a second consecutive cut to its benchmark interest rate, one of the world's highest, in a boost for left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he courts a fourth term.
Sports
Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta was left raging at the decision to overturn a penalty his team had been awarded in their 1-1 Champions League semi-final first leg draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Nature
Air quality in Europe is improving but more effort is needed to reach the European Union's 2030 targets, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said in its annual report on Thursday.
Politics
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with US counterpart Donald Trump, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Wednesday, adding the two leaders discussed the Middle East war and Ukraine.
Culture
For those who fear flying, the thriller "Deep Water" reveals a new nightmare: surviving an emergency landing, only to find yourself surrounded by man-eating sharks.
President Donald Trump said that a US naval blockade against Iran could last months, leading oil prices Wednesday to spike to their highest in more than four years.
Technology
Google-parent Alphabet impressed Wall Street with its latest quarterly earnings on Wednesday, as big tech rivals Microsoft, Meta and Amazon left investors lukewarm amid concerns about the huge cost of AI development.
Boulevard
A Romanian man was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday for making bomb threats and triggering "swatting" attacks on dozens of US officials and lawmakers, the Justice Department said.
Sports
Julian Alvarez's penalty secured Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Arsenal in a nervy Champions League semi-final first leg clash on Wednesday.